3D Printers Twist May Shape Homebuilding

3D Printers Twist May Shape Homebuilding 3D Printers Twist May Shape Homebuilding 3D Printers Twist May Shape HomebuildingMoving along a 33-foot-long rail, a large, industrial-scale robot works with a 3D printer to extrude plastic and carbon-fiber that fassons an intricate lattice that will become the core of a wall, a task that may open home building and other structures to new and cheaper construction methods.The rapid development of 3D printing, digital, and additive manufacturing now reaches across industries and disciplines, producing new applications and products on a seemingly regular basis. One of the latest is in construction, where one startup architectural firm wants to take the bulk out of structures with its novel 3D-printed wall core. It expects in 2017 to begin building a house using completely 3D-printed components from the konzeption chosen in a competition to prove the concept.Platt Boyd, an architect and founder of Chattanooga-based Branch Technology, developed wha t he calls C-Fab, for the Cellular Fabrication 3D printing platform. There are other large-scale 3D printers being used to build buildings, but they are bulky, operating from gantry cranes to place layers of heavy concrete. Boyds idea is to use a 3D printer to form lightweight wall cores of a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic matrix that can be used with standard building components such as outside cladding or inside drywall to reduce weight, increase productivity and lower costs.The C-Fab 3D printer and a printed structure. Image Branch TechnologyConstruction is twenty percent less productive than it welches twenty years ago, says Boyd. Most other industries are up 140 percent in that time. Branchs printer, a customized 12.5-ft Kuka robotic arm, is large at 25 feet wide and 58 feet long, it claims to be the worlds largest freeform 3D printer. By giving the robot mobility to move along the rail, the printer works in open space as opposed to a restricted area utilized by printers fitte d to gantry cranes. Further, algorithims written by Boyd and the Branch team allow it to build freeform structures based on almost any geometry the designer has used in CAD, says Boyd.Although lightweight, the lattice boasts a 30001 strength ratio. A small-scale matrix weighing 28 ounces and filled with springfoam held 3,000 pounds, says Boyd. He says it is three times stronger than wood framing and will enable mass customization in building components. He expects savings of up to 50 percent in materials to make an object and 50 percent of energy costs used in traditional manufacturing.Prior to founding Branch, Boyd worked as an architect in Montgomery, AL. But he was searching for a mora natural form of building, and was intrigued by 3D printing. But those using 3D printing in building were using single materials in layers that were built up. Most buildings, says Boyd, are built using many systems that form a composite whole.I was thinking of 3D printing lattices as a scaffold that can be used with other construction materials.Platt Boyd, Branch TechnologyComposition of a 3D printed wall. Image Branch TechnologyI was thinking of 3D printing lattices as a scaffold that can be used with other construction materials, he says. Rather than maximize 3D printing, he wants to minimize 3D printed components and pair them with traditional materials that then can be assembled or fitted together to make a complete structure.Key to the process is looking at how structures are made at the cellular level, says Boyd. To gain insight, he looked at the cellular foundation of natural structures such as the menschlich femur, the thigh bone and strongest bone in the human body. The material filling the cell provides the strength, he says. So we have to translate that mindset to constructing a building.Using Branch Technologys algorithms, designers can optimize geometries during direct digital manufacturing to customize building components, or rather their original support structu re. Those structures are then filled out with standard building components.The firm has already demonstrated a single wall using the 3D printed lattice and filled with sprayfoam is 1.3 times stronger than a wood stud wall. Once fitted out with concrete, Boyd and colleagues determined it had the same strength as a traditional concrete wall. The lattices are also very light two people can easily carry a standard wall lattice without concrete. A 1.5 pound plastic wall can support 1,500 pounds, says Boyd, and a 2.5-pound segment fitted with concrete can support just shy of 3,000 pounds. Because the lattice core is hollow, it uses a lot less material than a standard wall, reducing material costs and waste.Branch Technology got a boost from the nearby U.S. Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has been working with Local Motors to use 3D printing to build cars and Cincinnati Inc. to develop the Big Area Additive Manufacturing machine. ORNL supplied Branch with its car bon-reinforced plastic, but the material proved brittle and had to be further refined to a composition of 95 percent ABS plastic and 5 percent carbon fibers.To further prove their system, Branch sponsored a design competition where anyone could submit CAD models for a 600 to 800 square meter house that would be constructed using C-Fab to rethink traditional architecture, ergonomics, construction and building systems. The winning team from WATG Urban Architecture Studio was chosen earlier this year from worldwide entries. Called the worlds first freeform 3D printed house, WATG named its submission Curve Appeal. It consists of an exterior skin and interior core, derived from simple, yet careful calculated archways that ultimately blends with the site leaving an organic presence, according to WATG.Before construction begins in 2017, Boyd and colleagues must push their system and products through testing to meet structural standards of the International Code Council. We have to get thro ugh engineering and testing before printing, says Boyd.Until now, Branch has been printing nonstructural interior items and freestanding sculptures. But they now are also working with the structural engineering department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology on 3D-printed beams.Were about to try to print a structurally optimized beam, says Caitlin Mueller, an assistant professor in the Building Technologies Program. She leads the Digital Structures Research Group and is co-director of the Structural Design Lab. Weve been interested in 3D printing, as an alternative to layer-by-layer. It saves material, allows for complexity in design. This is really exciting.Learn more about the latest technologies in 3D printing at ASMEsAM3D Conference Expo. For Further Discussion

Personnel Clerk (MOS 0121)Marine Corps Job Description

Personnel Clerk (MOS 0121)seestreitkraft korporation Job DescriptionPersonnel Clerk (MOS 0121)- Marine Corps Job DescriptionThe Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) code is a series of characters that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines use to identify particular jobs. MOS 0121 is designated as the personnel clerk. Its a PMOS and the rank range is from Sergeant to Private. This MOS was effectively terminated in June 2010 when it was merged into the newly created MOS 0111, Administrative Specialist, along with MOS 0151 and MOS 0193. This information is provided for historical reference. Duties and Responsibilities of the Personnel Clerk The 01 portion of MOS 0121 designates personnel and administrative positions. Personnel clerks performed personnel and general administrative duties using manual and automated information systems, including postal service. They prepared documents, maintained personnel records, input audit, and retrieved pay and personnel information. Typical duties included Auditing and making entries in individual service recordsAuditing service records for required entries and documentationCompletion of various personnel and pay related forms and documentsResearching proper unit diary entry requirementsReporting transactions into the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) via the unit diaryAuditing and correcting feedback reports from systemsPreparation of individual pond and allotment requestsPerforming other duties pertaining to pay and personnel administration as required Personnel clerks might also have reviewed servicemembers pay and allowances, processed service awards, and prepared dependency applications. Other duties and tasks performed couldoverlap those performed by administrative clerks, including preparation of naval correspondence and maintenance of correspondence files and directives. You can refer toMCO 1510.53,Individual Training Standards,for a complete listing of duties and tasks that were associated with MOS 0121. Jo b Requirements Personnel clerks were required to have a thorough knowledge of the MCTFS, which encompasses the on-line Diary System (OLDS) and the Unit Diary/Marine Integrated Personnel System (UD/MIPS). Applicants were required to have a GT score of 100 or higher. MOS 0121 was assigned upon completing the Personnel Clerk Course which wasconducted at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, or upon demonstrating satisfactory performance during VIOJT. They had to be able to type at a minimum speed of 25 words per minute prior to completion of the Personnel Clerk Course. Applicants for MOS 0111, which merged MOS 0121 and other MOS codes, must currently meet similar requirements. A CL score of 100 or higher is required. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and be eligible for secret security clearance. They must complete the Administrative Specialist Course at Camp Legeune. Related Department of Labor Occupation Codes Personnel Clerk 209.362-026Clerk, General 209.562-010 Related SOC Classific ation Codes Human Resources Assistants (except Payroll and Timekeeping) 43-4161Office Specialist, General 43-9061 Related Marine Corps Jobs Administrative Clerk, MOS0151. This position was also merged intoMOS 0111 in June 2010. These personnel acted as personnel and pay input clerks for the MCTFS.Personnel/Administrative Chief, MOS 0193. This position was also merged into MOS 0111 in June 2010.Postal Officer, MOS 0160Personnel Officer, MOS 0170Manpower Information Systems Analyst, MOS 0171 Much of the above information is derived from MCBUL 1200, parts 2 and 3.

Why Hard Workers Really Do Come Out on Top

Why Hard Workers Really Do Come Out on TopWhy Hard Workers Really Do Come Out on TopSuccess expert Richard St. John has interviewed over 500 successful people and shares one of the fruchtwein important traits hes seen in all of them. And its not what you thinkIn this video, St. John explains that its not always the smartest, most talented people in the room who achieve the most. In fact, its usually the underdogs who do well because they know that they have to fight their way to the top to succeed.So, next time youre worried about not being the most intelligent person in a meeting or the most visionary in your office, just remember that working hard and working smart can trump all of those fears- and make you come out on top.Photo of people working on windows courtesy of Shutterstock.